EVENTS IN S. FLORIDA HELP FUEL GROWTH

When ships spill oil, tanker trucks overturn and rupture on I-95 and storms blow down transformers, Cliff Berry Inc. is one of the first companies in South Florida to be called.

The company's growth in recent years has been tied to some of South Florida's most noteworthy events.

In 1992, the company's crews worked overtime for two months removing PCB-filled transformers knocked down by Hurricane Andrew. The company also was hired by the Florida Department of Natural Resources to locate and contain fuel spills from boats sunk by the storm.

That same year, the company was among the first contractors to arrive when vessels collided and spilled a burning broth of gasoline, jet and diesel fuel into Tampa Bay.

When a train and a Hess gasoline tanker collided on West Cypress Creek Road in March 1993, Cliff Berry got the call to remove contaminated soil and debris from the site and drain remaining diesel fuel from the train's engines.

The company has even played a role in the recent Cuban immigration crisis.

"The Cuban thing has kept us as busy as anything," said Jim Coiner, operations manager for Cliff Berry at Port Everglades.

"We have the state contract to treat any barrels that wash ashore from the Keys to Melbourne. That means we have to take apart the rafts and clean and dispose of the drums. We were getting three to five calls a week for the last two months."

Despite his work on major oil spills, Cliff Berry II said he has been scared the most during much smaller and more routine jobs in South Florida.

"I've personally crawled up on the side of a tanker truck tipped over on I-95 and Hypoluxo Road [in Boynton Beach) and had to drill a hole into the truck to drain out the fuel," said Berry, son of company founder Cliff L. Berry.

"But that's not too bad. They give you a [flame resistant) suit and spray foam all over you and the drill to keep everything cool."